These do tend to blend into the background. They are around in reasonably decent numbers, but only the observant and eagle-eyed people will spot them. While they do tend to be used occasionally as taxi cab’s, they generally appear like any other ordinary minivan, except with a slightly jacked up suspension.

But they aren’t ordinary; this blue Chevrolet minivan you see before you is highly modified and enhanced from the way it left the factory. It was all done so that people confined to wheelchairs can maintain the same degree of mobility as anyone else.

Purpose built vehicles are something I have always found quite fascinating. Having lived next door to the owners of this minivan for over five years, and having driven this rig on numerous occasions, I never really gave this Chevrolet the once over until I was about to leave town for the last time.

This van is owned by Dewayne and Sharon – some of the best neighbors a person could ever wish to have. Dewayne, the former owner of a body-shop who had earned a widespread reputation for his talent in painting show cars, was injured in an incident at his shop that left him paralyzed from the waist down. While his reputation grew even wider for his ability to still paint cars with the same quality (doing so from his chair), he now required a vehicle that could accommodate him and his chair; his Cadillac DeVille was now out of the question.

His first van was a Ford E-250. Despite his customizing it with pinstripes and various other visual effects to spice up its vast expanse of fleet white, it didn’t last long as, he said, “Sharon kept looking for things to back into with that dumb thing – and it was awful in wind.” Sharon has said, “that thing was too big and Dewayne needs to quit being so critical about everything”. Shortly after the Ford was traded for the Chevrolet, Dewayne sold his shop (he was pushing 70 by this time) and the Shafer clan moved in next door.

This particular van was built by The Braun Corporation; seeing anything labeled as “Braunability” is also reflective of their products. Braun, located in Indiana (a true magnet for van conversions and RV manufacturing), is only one of several manufacturers of these specialized rigs.

Looking at this van is a lot like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. You can see one element, that immediately ties into the next, and so on.

As one approaches this blue minivan, it is obvious it sits higher than its plebeian Chevrolet Venture siblings. This higher stance is two-fold;

first, it helps make room for the ramp. On this particular model, the ramp slides from beneath the floor. It seems this method is falling out of favor to fold-up ramps on the newer versions Dewayne and Sharon have viewed. Sharon does not like the fold-up ramps as she said the ramps have rattled on every one she has test driven.

Second, the floor was been substantially lowered in this minivan to aid with ingress / egress plus providing sufficient headroom for those in the chair. Jacking up the suspension is the best way to maintain ground clearance.

Here’s a taste of what the lowered floor looks like from underneath. This doesn’t tell it all, but hopefully you get an idea.

Let’s look at another shot.

The lowered floor is only part of the methodology for ingress / egress. These vans also have what is called a “kneeling system”; the chain seen above is what appears to be the kneeling system. When the ramp is extended, the chain compresses the suspension on the right side of the vehicle, lowering it further to flatten the ramp.

This requires two pictures to better explain it.

Overall the ramp system is pretty slick, however, the ramp can still pose a challenge to the user. Dewayne’s chair is motorized and is quite similar to many other motorized chairs. Due to simple space constraints, the ramp isn’t much wider than his chair. For one of our jaunts, he wasn’t quite square to the ramp on his approach; the chair was soon dangling over the lip of the ramp halfway up. Dewayne is a very large framed man in a heavy chair. Wrestling the loaded chair back onto the ramp to prevent his falling was grueling but successful.

The inside still looks very Chevrolet Venture. There is no passenger seat in place, as Dewayne is able to lock his chair into the slot. The van is configured such that he could drive it, but Dewayne has told me the constant installation and removal of the hand controls was more hassle that it was worth. This van is Dewayne and Sharon’s only vehicle, although she has thought of getting herself another car for running errands around town.

Being inside the van is almost limousine like given the gap between the seats for Dewayne’s chair to maneuver. One day Sharon had a follow-up visit to the doctor after her hip replacement surgery. I drove her there and she had to sit way in the back. We had to talk louder than normal to cover the distance between us!

The Braun conversion process (seen in a four part series; here is Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4) is quite intriguing and I’m sure it is similar to the process used by other ramp van manufacturers. Starting off with a Dodge Caravan, Chrysler Town & Country, Toyota Sienna, or Honda Odyssey, the van is taken into the factory where it is stripped of all removable items behind the firewall plus the wheels and rear axle. The floor is then cut out of it with a new, lowered floor replacing it. The rest of the process is fitment of the new features and replacing all removed items.

From looking at Braun’s website, it is possible to have the ramp enter the vehicle from the rear instead of the side. I have seen a number of such vans, primarily last generation Dodge Caravans, with some being used as taxi-cabs around where I live.

Other than being quite expensive, I never knew what these cost until researching for this article. Dewayne told me their Chevrolet cost about as much as the last Cadillac they had purchased new. Looking around at various ramp van dealers, I found a new Dodge Caravan for $43,000 with progression up to $70,000 depending upon brand and level of factory and upmarket equipment. As a comparison, several new Ford E-250 vans were in the upper end of this price range, also.

One item I have not been able to truly verify is the curb weights of these vans post up-fitting. Dewayne and Sharon’s van is no rocket sled, but it doesn’t feel overwhelmed, either; it feels like it’s simply loaded down. Online resources for curb weights of ramp vans is a sketchy proposition, although I did find a converted current generation Dodge Caravan reported as weighing 4,580 pounds; Dodge is saying an untouched Caravan SXT is 4,510 pounds. It would seem the added gear would be more than 70 pounds. However, given this finding and my observation that a new Honda Odyssey weighs as much as a ’76 Mercury Grand Marquis, these minivans are far from being lightweights regardless of what has been done to them.

I am finding people who own these ramp vans generally keep them a very long time. Used ones continue to bring a premium due to their being such a specialty item. While so many regular minivans seem to get used up and thrown away, it is quite likely these ramp vans will be giving their owners service for a very long time.

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30 Comments

I’m so glad you posted this. I frequently drive by a place that sells/rents these here in Buffalo and have often thought about stopping to see what they are all about. I’ve always wondered how the chairs lock into position and what kind of view they afford the person. Now I can see how all that works.

Also, I’d never have thought to look underneath and explore how the kneeling system works. Great job researching and writing about something I’ve been curious about for a while.

I too very much appreciate this posting, as I’ve been thinking about these Vans for my Father, who has multiple myeloma (a form of blood cancer); he was pretty much incapacitated from his first round of chemo 9 months ago, and though he’s recovered, he’s also been off the chemo, which we just found out yesterday he needs to resume (though he’ll be taking a different drug)…we were amazed at how fast he went from “normal” mobility to not being able to walk at all…he has a pretty “good” normal car (Chevrolet Impala) for a disabled person, but it was an eye opener learning how to transfer him into the car seat from his wheelchair. He’s since gotten strong enough to get up himself and sit in the car seat, but we worry whether the side effects of the next round of chemo will again incapacitate him. We had to hire handicapped taxis for his numerous Dr. Appointments (even worse since the taxis are rare enought that they can’t leave during the appointment, so taxi bills run into $$$) so I’ve had my eye out to buy one of these for him….the prices seem very high, but of course the amount of modification to the vehicle is significant, and as is mentioned, the volumes are low, so the premium is high…even for used ones (a 10 year old one can go for more than a brand-new unmodified van). I’m just trying to figure out when (and if) we should make the purchase, since his abilities change depending on whether he’s on treatment or not (and you don’t really know what his long-term need for treatment will be).

I see Braun mentioned all the time, they also make equipment to go in handicapped vehicles and homes. One thing I appreciated was the label listing the “new” part number for the fuel tank (which I’m sure is changed to correspond with all the modifications that need to be done to the chassis). I guess I never really thought of it before, but my brother-in-law had an E250 conversion van which needed a rear expansion valve for the AC, but the part wasn’t one of Ford’s but rather one done by the conversion people. He didn’t buy the van new, so I wondered whether the paperwork would include the vendor-added or modified parts so if you had to get the item replaced, you’d at least know which parts were “stock” vs which ones were unique to the conversion (I know there are obvious ones like the ramp which doesn’t exist on the stock version, but the non-obvious ones like the fuel tank that you might otherwise not know about would be good to know, along with which company they got them from).

I have two close coworkers who have MM. Sadly, one passed last year from complications, even though he had recovered from the “chemo blast” enough to return to work. The other is really doing great, but has commented numerous times how the illness and treatment have knocked the stuffing out of him (he’s been back at work almost a year now). He did his treatment at Mayo, and highly recommends the facility. Hope your Dad experiences a good recovery!

Thanks, Ed, I hope he continues to improve. My Mother has always been diligent about getting bone density tests (for osteoporosis) but now my Father has to get tested for it.

Thanks for the recommendation at Mayo clinic. I’ve not been there (I work on assignment at IBM, and they have a site in Rochester also) but he’s also checking MD Anderson which is a bit closer to us in central Texas.

The chemo is tough, especially when you’re older and have other complications (diabetes) like he does.

I guess I always took his transportation for granted, since he has an “old gent’s” car….the Impala is higher than most other cars to get into (though not as high as truck nor SUV) and also has a bench seat. I never appreciated having a bench seat so much as when he couldn’t easily get in the car, we used a transfer board and a towel on the seat which I could pull on to get him the rest of the way into the car. Having the unimpeded space
next to the driver is really handy with older people, wish they still had this as an option. We haven’t yet decided on getting a van for him to replace the Impala, since his mobility is better now, but going back on chemo may throw us back into looking for one…if so, hope we can get a good one for him.

A retired couple down the street from me have a 2012 caravan converted by braun. I think they may be in their late sixties and the gentleman is also disabled, I see him pack himself into the drivers compartment every once and a while but its usually the wife who does the driving. The Caravan looks like it would be a tank and its added equipment sure looks like it was built to last, I wounder what if anything they do to improve durability of the drivetrain, and original body structure. These mobility vans have some of the best integrated lower body kits of any vehicle IMO, maybe thats because in functioning additions to a vehicle. When the day comes (and it will) that I require a vehicle such as this I hope they still build them like they are currently.

My younger sister has cerebral palsy and my parents are on their second Braun Entervan (both have been Dodge Caravans). The lowered floor is always scraping on stuff, and they’ve had issues with muffler brackets, etc. but it beats the alternative: not being able to drive my sister around. Both of my sister’s vans have had folding ramps.

There was talk a few years ago of a company manufacturing a specialty van designed from the ground up for being used with wheelchairs, but the company never made it to production. My dad was telling me they had contracted American General to manufacture the things, and that American General was considering just making it themselves since the design phase was done. I can’t verify any of that, but one would think a purpose-built ramp can would be a little more durable than a Caravan with the floor cut out.

Still, the amount of work that goes into outfitting one of these things is awe-inspiring, and the final product is really cool and really important to the mobility of people who need them.

The Washington, D.C., transit system has some of these in its fleet of MetroAccess vehicles for the disabled (http://www.wmata.com/accessibility/metroaccess_service/). I’ve seen a couple on the road and have thought to myself I should try to take a snapshot for the Cohort, but I don’t like to shoot photos from behind the wheel.

They did make it to production but just closed up due to not being able to make payroll which would have made them in violation of their loan agreement. The other problem is that they were based on the Panther engine and transmission. The front suspension looks suspiciously like that of the 03 and up Panther with it’s aluminum crossmember. According to a poster at TTAC who was an engineer for them they were in the process of engineering the conversion to a F-150 EcoBoost V6 and 6sp trans due to Ford discontinuing the 2V 4.6 with the Panther and them not having the volume needed to pickup the tooling that Ford has put up for sale.

I agree. However I want to wait till I get moved back to Ypsilanti later this summer. It’s at this point a 98% done deal that I am going. Once there I will be in a better place logistically to help make things happen.

I have seen a fair number of these running around. I have always wondered what kind of modifications they do for a conversion, because the vehicle sits totally different and there are body extenders on the lower sides to cover the lowered floor. Thanks for the brief tour.

The Braun company is located about 2 hours north of me in Winimac, Indiana. I had not realized it, but the company founder started out due to his own mobility issues. He started out with scooters and wheelchair lifts for Dodge vans in the early 70s. Ralph Braun just recently passed away. There is a very good mini bio of the man here, that is worth a read. He sounds like quite a guy.http://www.braunability.com/ralph-braun

If you think you remember hearing about Winimac, Indiana before but cannot remember why, it was the location of the famous Ford Pinto fire jury trial in the early 1980s. For a little county-seat town in cornfield country, it has some pretty significant automotive connections.

It’s probably safer this way too. Those high-roof fiberglass tops have very little structural integrity. Combine that with a clumsy vehicle with a high center of gravity and things get very ugly if they roll over.

My current Econoline work vans actually started their lives as a wheel chair vans. One has it’s raised roof and extended sliding door sliding door and was based on a standard van. The other is a full on conversion van. There is evidence of where the power door mechanisms attached as well the lift attachment and switches to control them are still present in the one. In one it appears that the operator transferred to the swivel captain’s chair due to the wear on the seat, marks and holes left from hand controls and a swap to a hand operated parking brake.

Great article about a very interesting vehicle. The house that I grew up in was owned by my mother’s aunt, who was confined to a wheelchair from the time she was in her late teens due to a bout with polio or some similar illness (she had inherited the house from her parents). She worked for a number of years as a dispatcher for a local police department. At one time, it’s my understanding that the dispatch equipment was located inside her house. By the time I was old enough to remember, she was working out of the police station. I don’t remember how she got to work when I was smaller, but my parents may have driven her. By the time I was in my teens (in the ’80s), a wheelchair van would take her to and from work. She retired in the late ’80s, when she was in her mid 60s.

We never owned any kind of specialized vehicle for her, but would simply drive her around in our cars (she never had a driver’s license and did not drive herself). She was able to use her arms to lift herself out of her wheelchair to get into bed or her living room recliner, and with a little help she was able to do the same to get into and out of a car. As she grew older, she began using a board (built for this purpose) to slide from chair to chair, and used that to get into and out of cars as well.

When I was in my late teens and early 20s (late ’80s-early ’90s), I owned a 1985 Plymouth Turismo. During that period, that car was my aunt’s preferred method of transportation. If she needed to go somewhere and I was available, she would usually ask me to drive her. If I wasn’t available but wasn’t using the car, my parents would sometime borrow it to take her places.

My aunt liked the Turismo because its low stance and long doors (this was a model only available as a 2-door) made it easy for her to get into and out of using the “slide on the board” method. Seats in other cars were often higher than her wheelchair, forcing her to move herself uphill to get in. The front seat in the Turismo by contrast was almost level with her wheelchair, making it a straight shot to slide across. The Turismo’s long doors also allowed her to pull her wheelchair more closely alongside the car seat than was possible with a typical four-door sedan. In addition, even though the Turismo was a fairly small car, its rear hatch could easily hold her wheelchair. (I used to keep the rear seat folded down, but the wheelchair might have fit even with the seat folded up, although it likely would have needed to lean onto/over the back of the seat.)

I used to see a Buick Terraza version of one of these vans regularly parked in front of my college’s arts department building, so I think it must’ve belonged to a handicapped faculty member.

I have a cousin who’s handicapped. For a long time they bought high-top full size conversion vans (1994 Dodge Ram Van and then a 2000 Chevy Express) that were outfitted with fold-up ramps. And those things indeed rattled like there was no tomorrow. Most recently I was told they bought a Dodge Caravan – I haven’t seen the vehicle myself, but there’s no way a standard Caravan would have enough headroom to fit my cousin, so theirs is either one like this with the lowered floor, or it’s one with a raised fiberglass roof. He has never driven, so it’s basically for transporting him (i.e., no hand controls).

Knowing this particular branch of my family tree, though, I suspect that the change was more or less due to the current scarcity of conversion vans rather than a conscious decision that a Braun-style conversion might actually be more practical. After all, my cousin loved having the TV and VCR to watch in their old conversion vans.

I have a 2004 Entervan and recently my floor ramp has broken, allowing the ramp to be brought in but restricting it from being rolled out. I believe the problem is one of the micro switches. I can take the van to a local Braun service dealer, however since they are the only game in town, they are out of sight for repairs. We are a family of limited resources due to my expensive medical costs.

Can anyone provide me some experience with this failure? Thank you very much.